As of Tuesday this week I have started my Physical Therapy for my achilles tendon injury. After meeting with the Physical Therapist, there’s a very slight chance I might be able to run my marathon in late April. One of my major downfalls is that I haven’t been keeping up with enough cardio exercises to maintain my aerobic capacity. I was hesitant to do too much bike riding, wasn’t sure if the elliptical would be okay, and in performing HIIT exercises I have to modify most of them to not strain my ankle and achilles tendon. My Physical Therapist told me on Tuesday that the elliptical would be fine (and is recommended) for this type of injury until I can get back to running again.

Dang. I wish it didn’t take so long to get an appointment to see her because I could’ve been training on the elliptical all this time. But now I know and will train as much as is safely possible from here on out.

I have had zero achilles tendon pain in over 2 weeks since I’m not running at all and I have been modifying all of my activities. According to my PT that means I no longer have tendinitis, but am now in tendinosis. What does that mean? It means that the inflammation has subsided but the tendon is still damaged so I have to be extra careful from here on out so as not to rupture the tendon. No pressure!

Apparently I can “fix” or better this and that is the focus of my therapy; to remodel the scar tissue that has formed at the tendon. The average time to full recovery is about 3-6 months. My marathon is in 6 weeks, so when I said there was a slight chance I might be able to run it I really meant that I probably won’t be running it. However, the positive is that I will be able to run some by then, and should be able to run/walk a half marathon as long as I take it super slow and easy, and if I feel any pain or discomfort at all to stop. I have been in touch with the coordinators of the run and they have the course mapped out such that I can make my decision to go all the way or half-way while I’m running! So, no matter what, I will be running that race in April! I will likely not be running 26.2 miles, but will hopefully be able to complete 13.1 miles at a super slow and steady run/walk.

As for the other runs I have scheduled prior to the marathon, I can still participate in both. I will not be running the Tim Kennard 10 Mile River Run, but I will be participating in the 5K Fun Run/Walk and will walk most of it. I will not be running the half marathon portion of the Run for the Animals this year, but I will definintely be able to run the 5K and maybe run/walk the 10K. Thankfully I have until race day to decide which one I want to and will be able to do.

So there you have it. I will be ultra-diligent with my PT exercises for sure, and will be utilizing the elliptical machines at the Y very regularly in the next several weeks. Though I will not be able to perform the way I had set out at the beginning of the year, at least I 1) can still perform at all and 2) can heal and recover to come out even stronger next time around!

Never lose sight of what is truly important to you. Choose to find the positive in everything; even if you have to search really hard for it, it is there…always.

Yesterday was the 4th annual Run for the Animals Half Marathon and 10K on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The weather was beautiful, the crowd was huge, and the bling was fabulous. I have trophies from every year prior and I really wanted one from this year to add to my collection! This year’s trophy was a cool cat design. But if I didn’t win a trophy it wouldn’t be the end of my world, just being able to finish my first Half Marathon would be enough for me.

My training over the course of the past 2 weeks was lax because of traveling and a nagging pain in my left hip. I was hoping/expecting to finish with a time somewhere around 2:10:– judging by my training pace. After breakfast I downed 800mg ibuprofen to, hopefully, keep any hip or other pain at bay to make the run bearable.

I arrived to the event later than I had hoped, since I had some fundraising stuff to set up. I managed to get the majority of the items in order before my “helper” arrived, but I had to bolt on him and hit the potty before the race began! Thankfully some seasoned volunteers of mine were nearby to help out with the fundraising table while I was out getting my run on.

There were just over 150 total participants this year (10K and Half Marathon combined). By the start of the race, the weather was at a comfortable temperature in the upper 40s/lower 50s with just the slightest breeze. Perfect running weather! I’d have run in shorts if it wasn’t for the fact that I had just gotten the coolest pair of running tights ever…just in time for this run! So I had to wear them.

I’ve only ever run the 10K portion of this race in the past, so I’d bolt out of the starting gate and push as fast and as hard as I could for as long as I could. This time I had to remind myself to take it easy! When the start airhorn sounded I just took off at a gentle, comfortable pace, a little faster than my average training run. I felt great! Made it to the 3.1 mile mark (the 10K turnaround) and kicked it up a bit. Just a tad. After 2 more miles I slowed it up a bit for a mile or so. By mile 7, I started to get a hint of side stitches. I hate those! So I slowed down a wee bit at that point and started some breathing exercises. After another mile the pain went away. So I picked up the pace just a bit.

At mile 10, I was ON FIRE! My legs felt great and I was able to speed it up and pass a couple of people on my way down the home stretch! Damn! I can do this! That’s what was going through my head. Then I hit mile 12.5. My legs started to give in. I’d try to do the “mind over matter” thing and convince my legs to keep moving, but they needed a break. So I stopped and walked for about a minute. Then MIND won as I told myself “the finish line is right there and then you can rest all you want!” So I started running again, not super fast, but fast enough to finish with a time of 1:54:15!

I DID IT! Finished my first Half Marathon! Woot!

Holy crap! I just finished my first Half Marathon in LESS THAN 2 hours!!! I could hardly believe it! And I actually felt pretty good afterward, as long as I kept moving. I was welcomed by my friends, dogs and other awesome folks at the finish line! I DID IT! FINALLY! Another milestone reached!

My running buddy, trainer and coach!

Today I’m a bit stiff, my left hip is nagging me, hamstrings are a little tight, and my knees are not quite up to par. But I still feel great. After a few weeks of rest, I’ll be back at it. This time in shorts and a tank top.

The Final Results:

I finished 17th overall out of 65 Half Marathon participants

I finished 1st in my age group for women 40-44

I earned 3rd place fundraiser, raising $751.00

I FINISHED MY FIRST HALF MARATHON at a venue that I hold very near and dear to me!

I did get a couple more trophies to add to my collection of Run for the Animals bling.

My Trophies for this year for top female finisher in my age group, and for 3rd place fundraiser!

Now to work on improving my pace for next year so I continue to collect trophies from each year! 🙂 Thanks for all you do Andrea D. putting this awesome event on every year! Can’t wait to hear what the final fundraising tally was (it was EPIC this year!)! Love what you do, and I’ll see you again next year…

In an effort to raise money for the Run for the Animals (visit runfortheanimals.com for more information, or see my previous blog post), I am hosting a “silent auction” of items with 100% of the proceeds going toward my fundraising efforts for the event!

The items I have available are primarily dog, cat and runner-related that have been donated by outside parties or myself. I don’t mean to appear discriminatory against pocket pets, horses, reptiles and other animals, but I just don’t have the donor support from those other animal venues at this time. Please check out my Facebook page for more information!

The Run for the Animals is an event that hold very near and dear to my heart, and you can read about it more on my previous blog post linked above!